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Living Room Re-Do: From Country to Eclectic

By Amy Bly

Home Stager with Great Impressions Home Staging/Interiors

October 10, 2011 02:04 AM

This 10-year old living room was cluttered and out-dated, with stained carpeting and a broken sofa to boot. My client, a single mom and teacher on a very limited budget, was too embarrassed to even have her family step into the old living room. Using staging to live principles and my designer discounts, I helped my client shop for new furniture, carpeting, drapes, and accessories. Now the room meets her and her college-age son's needs. As her son says, now the living room is "trendy" and as the budget allows they will finish the job with a new espresso media cabinet, flat-screen TV, and art and mirrors on the left wall. So far, the cost has been under $4,000 for all-new wall to wall carpeting, new sofa, coffee table, two end tables, cabinet, drapes, three lamps and an armchair (for left-hand corner but on back-order).

Living Room Before Redecorating

LIVING ROOM BEFORE REDECORATING AND UPDATING

Living Room After Redesign/Staging to Live

Living Room After Re-Decorating and "Staging To Live"

Living Room Before Re-decorating and Staging To Live

Living Room Before Redecorating

Living Room After Redesign/Staging To Live

Living Room After Redesign/Staging To Live Project

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Peggy Chirico

Prudential CT Realty - Manchester, CT

REALTOR® 860-748-8900, Hartford & Tolland County Real Estate

Very nice, Amy! I love before and after pictures--they really are worth a thousand words.

Oct 10, 2011 02:08 AM

Linda Blumenthal

631-819-2913 - Westhampton Beach, NY

NYS Licenced Real Estate Salesperson, CBR

Nice job Amy! It certainly makes a big difference with a little bit of redecorating and updating.

Oct 10, 2011 02:11 AM

Joan Cox

House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO

Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Amy, love the change you have made in this room. It seems to have gone from cozy to elegant! Great job!

Oct 10, 2011 02:17 AM

Steve, Joel & Steve A. Chain

Chain Real Estate Investments & Mortgage, Steve & Joel Chain - Cottonwood, CA

Amy,

Some traditional homes can truly benefit by updating furnishings and staging. It can make the sale.

Steve

Oct 10, 2011 02:23 AM

Amy Bly

Great Impressions Home Staging/Interiors - Montville, NJ

Styling Homes for Selling and Staying

Peggy, Linda, Joan, Thanks so much! I LOVE updating rooms to bring them into the current decade/century!

Steve, thanks for commenting. Agreed!

Oct 10, 2011 02:28 AM

Richard Weeks

Dallas, TX

REALTOR®, Broker

Amy,

Wow what a difference. Great job. Thanks for sharing those before and after pictures.

Oct 10, 2011 02:30 AM

Sally Weatherley

EXIT STAGE RIGHT - Vancouver, BC

Vancouver Home Staging, Home Stager Vancouver, B.C

Oooh, nice work, Amy. Love the feel of the room now. Those rich curtains really add warmth to the space, and I love that fun unit with the coloured drawers.

Oct 10, 2011 12:29 PM

Amy Bly

Great Impressions Home Staging/Interiors - Montville, NJ

Styling Homes for Selling and Staying

Richard, Thanks!

Sally, the drapes are my FAVORITE part of this make-over! My client loved that multi-colored cabinet, and I do, too. That and the couch are from Raymour & Flanagan. Still have to get a chrome curtain rod that will go a lot better with those Moroccan drapes.

Oct 10, 2011 02:04 PM

Cathy Lee

CL Design Services Home Staging - Danville, CA

ASP, IAHSP, RESA Danville, CA

WOW!! WOW!!! Very nice! Love what you did! Bravo!

Oct 10, 2011 03:09 PM

Wendy Tomm

Beyond the Walls - East St Paul, MB

CCSP, RESA-PRO, BBB - Wpg Realtors

Well very nice work. The room feels so much more updated and inviting.

Oct 11, 2011 01:18 PM

Amy Bly

Great Impressions Home Staging/Interiors - Montville, NJ

Styling Homes for Selling and Staying

Cathy Lee and Wendy -- Thanks for stopping by to comment! Appreciate the kind words :>) Yes, BIG change in terms of updates!

Oct 11, 2011 03:29 PM

Janet Jones

Just Your Style Interiors, LLC - Kihei, HI

Home Staging, Interior Redesign Kihei, Maui, Hawaii

Hi Amy--that is a great start on that room with a $4,000 budget. It feels so much better--hence the son's comment! Very nice work to show what can be accomplished with a limited budget and a lot of hard work and creativity.

Oct 11, 2011 05:02 PM

Phil Hillerman

Crye-Leike Realtors® - Rogers, AR

Crye-Leike Realtors®

Good Morning Amy, Nice job on the staging. I hope you have a great fall season.

Oct 13, 2011 05:04 AM

Julia Maher

Nestings: Connecticut Home Staging and Model Homes - Fairfield, CT

Connecticut Home Stager

OK - LOVE those drapes too - did you make them? Or where did they come from? Great looking room!

Oct 13, 2011 05:08 AM

Anonymous

Hi, Janet, Thanks so much. I find it MORE fun to take on the challenge of a low budget with decorating than someone who can spend tons of money -- the thrill of the hunt, I guess!

Phil, thanks for stopping by and the nice comment.

Hi, Julia, the drapes were $39/each (X 4 for the 2 pairs) at Bed & Bath. Great price, and yes, they look great! I really don't sew, not my forte -- you?

Oct 13, 2011 05:39 AM

#15

Kathy Burke

Sensational Home Staging~~Danville, CA - Danville, CA

S.F. East Bay Home Staging

Amy....WOW that WAS one tired looking Living Room! Now it's all perky again! Nice job!!

Oct 13, 2011 01:28 PM

Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging

Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR

"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

Amy ~ what a huge improvement in the appeal of this room! Your clients must be thrilled that their space is stylish now, no more country granny-look for them!!

Oct 15, 2011 06:20 PM

Anonymous

Hi, Kathy and Maureen -- thanks for stopping by to make such nice comments! I bought a silver curtain rod with flat circular ends that I will put up with this client in a few days . . . it will look so much better than the wooden one.

Oct 16, 2011 04:49 PM

#18

Karen Anne Stone

New Home Hunters of Fort Worth and Tarrant County - Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth Real Estate

Amy... your comments #15 and #18 do not show your name nor your picture... and that was because you were not logged in when you made those comments. Look at your other comments... and notice the blue background. That appears when you are logged in, and does not appear when you are NOT logged in. Just a friendly suggestion.

By the way... what a great post. This just shows what a major difference it can make when you have a Professional Stager working on your home. Great job !

Oct 30, 2011 06:22 PM

Amy Bly

Great Impressions Home Staging/Interiors - Montville, NJ

Styling Homes for Selling and Staying

Hi, Karen Anne, thanks for that info, I have never understood why that happens sometimes! If I go directly through an email link (notification), I guess that's why it doesn't work. Testing it out now. And thank you!

Oct 31, 2011 04:06 AM